STARKVILLE, Miss. -Bats, balls and Bell sisters will
collide this weekend as the Mississippi State softball team (15-4) plays host
to No. 12 LSU (17-4) at the MSU Softball Stadium. The three-game series will
mark the beginning of Southeastern Conference play for both teams.

"We
are ready to start the second season," Head Coach Vann Stuedeman said. "Any SEC
series is a typical Super Regional-type atmosphere. LSU is an experienced group
and we are looking forward to the challenge."

"Facebook
Friday" launches the second season with a 6 p.m. first pitch Friday, followed
by a 1 p.m. start Saturday as part of Starkville Parks & Recreation Day. The series wraps up
Sunday at 1 p.m., as the Dawg Diamond hosts Title IX Girl Scout Celebration Day.

Admission is free for those that can attend, but for those
that cannot, live video and audio streaming of the game will be available
online to HailStateTV subscribers (www.HailState.com/hstvlive).

The matchup between the Bulldogs and the Tigers will
feature a sibling rivalry, as MSU redshirt sophomore Briana Bell will be in the
opposite dugout from Bianka, her younger sister who is a freshman for LSU. The
older Bell is hitting .360 in eight starts with nine RBIs and eight runs for
the Maroon and White in 2013, while the younger Bell is 19-for-58 (.328) with 12
RBIs and 10 runs in 19 starting nods for the Purple and Gold.

"Both Briana and Bianka are having really good years so
far, so that matchup will be fun," Stuedeman explained. "If there's anybody on
the planet more competitive than me, it is the Bell family."

State enters the series with the longest active winning
streak in the SEC. The nine-game streak is tied for the seventh longest
in school history. To make it 10-straight wins, MSU will have to snap a 20-game
losing streak to the Tigers. LSU, who made the Women's College World Series
last season, is 49-5 all-time against Mississippi State, and has not lost to
the Bulldogs since a doubleheader sweep by the Maroon and White on March 30,
2005.

Losing is
something the 2013 Bulldogs haven't dealt with often this season, as MSU has
won 15 of its first 19 games, tied for the second-best start in school history.
Stuedeman's squad has won its first six games in March, making 2013 the second
time in school history MSU has started 6-0 in the third month of the year
(1997).

The pitching has
been a big reason the Bulldogs are 11 games above .500. Stuedeman's pitching
staff is on pace to shatter the school records for strikeouts (on pace for
544), opponent batting average (.146) and strikeouts per seven innings (10.3). After
pitching five shutouts in 57 games total in 2012, the MSU pitchers have already
shut out six opponents through 19 games this season. Bulldog pitchers are
holding opponents to a .080 average (11-for-138) with two outs,

while the Bully
Bomber offense has outscored opponents in two-out RBIs by a 31-4 margin.

Offensively, speed
has been the name of the game for the Dawgs. Through just 19 games in 2013, the
Bulldogs have stolen 49 bases, one more than the team swiped in 56 games total
the year before Stuedeman arrived in 2011. State is already halfway past last year's
total of 92 stolen bases, ranking fourth in the conference.

Following the three-game series, Starkville's team takes to
the road again for a four-game spring-break road trip. The Bulldogs travel to
Jacksonville State for a 6 p.m. contest on Tuesday, March 12, before playing a
doubleheader at the College of Charleston starting at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March
14. The four-game roadstand concludes Friday, March 15, as the Maroon and White
play at Charleston Southern at noon.

For live in-game updates of MSU's attempt to cage the
Tigers this weekend, follow the program on Twitter at @MStateSB. For pictures, like the team on
Facebook at Facebook.com/MStateSB and visit the team's Instagram account
at MStateSB. For pregame and postgame video,
check out MSU's official YouTube channel at YouTube.com/HailState.